Converging warp sheet



Dec. 3,1957 J; T. RICH 2,814,850

CONVERGING wARP SHEET Filed May 17, 1955 ww 4 \IH/IHH!ILLM INVENT OR.

ATTORNEY 2,814,850 CONVERGMG WARP SHEET John T. Rich, Morristown, Tenn.,assignor to American Enka Corporation, Enka, N. C., a corporation ofDela- Ware Application May 17, 1955, Serial No. 509,033 6 Claims. (Cl.28-22) This invention relates to tube spinning and more particularly -tothe formation of a warp from a plurality of freshly spun andaftertreated yarns.

In the tube spinning of rayon or other man-made yarns under commercialconditions, the tubes necessary to aftertreat a single yarn are arrangedin a compact group and a large number of such groups are arranged inside by side relationship. The yarns discharged from all of these groupsare arranged into a warp running at right angles to the tube groups andthat warp is pulled under some tension to warp drying apparatus andcollection.

One of the desirable features of tube spinning is that yarns, which areliquid propelled through the aftertreating tubes, are in relaxedcondition during aftertreatment with the result that the liquidtreatment is uniform and very effective. When, however, the yarn issuingfrom the last tube of a group becomes a part of a warp, some of thetension from the warp propelling medium is evident within theaftertreating tubes with resulting reduction in the uniformity andeffectiveness of the aftertreatment. On the other hand, the warphandling of tube aftertreated yarns is desirable for reasons of dryingease, space economy and ease of spinning-in.

In application Serial Number 430,823, filed May 19, 1954, and commonlyowned herewith there are shown schemes for preventing the tensions inthe yarns running in the warp from migrating back into the treatmenttubes. From the point of view of liquid treatment the arrangements ofapplication Serial Number 430,823 are highly satisfactory. However thereis the basic problem that tension is undesirable in the tubes butdesirable in the warp. Accordingly, when the tensions in the tubes areat optimum, there has been some mechanical handling trouble with thewarp such as sticking together of adjacent yarns, difliculty inspinning-in and low resistance of the warp to displacement of individualyarns by foam on the liquid used in treating the warp.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoingdiiculty in a manner fully compatible with low yarn tensions duringliquid aftertreatment in the tubes of the system.

It is proposed according to the present invention so to locate the yarnsof the warp that their spacing is somewhat inversely proportional to thetension so that the components of the warp converge in the direction ofincreasing tension.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent uponconsideration of the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment thereof in conjunction with the annexed drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a view partially in elevation and partially in section of atube group for the aftertreatment of rayon which constitutes a typicalenvironment for the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a fragmentary View in top plan of a warp arrangementaccording to the present invention showing the components of the warpconverging in the direction of draw ott.

Referring now in detail to Figure l, freshly spun yarn enters the tubegroup through tube 1t). ln transfer box 11, it is introduced into thefirst tube 12 of the aftertreating group. It is delivered by tube 12 totransfer box 13 in which it enters the next tube of the group.Succeeding portions of the yarn are thus liquid propelled hcc back andforth between boxes 11 land 13 until the particular aftertreatment iscompleted. The last tube of the group, tube 14, originates in box 11,but, instead of terminating in box 13, it discharges into a largeconduit 15 which leads to a trough 16 into which the yarn and the liquidfrom tube 14 are discharged. The structure and operation thus fardescribed are disclosed in application Serial Number 361,892, filed June16, 1953, and cornmonly owned herewith.

A commercial tube spinning machine has many tube groups of the typeshown in Figure 1, yand these are arranged side by side withlongitudinal axes thereof in mutually parallel relationship. The trough16, on the other hand, is common to all of the groups. When the yarnsfrom all of the groups have been discharged into the trough 16, theoperators arrange them in combs, such as at 17, to form a warp runningdownstream above the trough 16. This warp is drawn off by rollers 18,such as those shown in broken lines.

The tension on the warp running in the combs above the trough 16 has atendency to be transmitted through the yarn at least somewhat into theaftertreating sysem. In the Figure l arrangement, the transmittal of thetension into the tube system is prevented by making a reverse S curve inthe end of the last tube 14 of the system. This curvature of the tube 14has a braking effect on the yarn so that it can run free of tension inthe aftertreating tubes and yet be handled as an orderly warp.

Various other expedients for preventing migration of the tensionemanating from draw-off rollers 18 back into the tube system are shownin application Serial Number 430,823, filed May 19, 1954.

In Figure 2 there is shown in plan an upstream portion of the warptrough 16. It can be seen that the tubes 15 are arranged -in groups ofsix and that a comb such as the comb 17 is arranged to serve the yarnsfrom each group of tubes 15 as well as all of the yarns entering thewarp upstream thereof.

These combs bear reference numerals 19, 20 and 21, in addition to thecomb 17 which is depicted in the cross section which constitutesFigure 1. The left-hand end of Figure 2 represents the extreme upstreamend of the warp formed from the output of a multi-position tube spinningmachine. Between the upper end of the trough 16 and the first comb 19,there are six tubes 15 which discharge freshly spun yarn into the trough16. These six yarns are oriented into a warp by the upwardly projectingpins or teeth 19a which define the comb 19. The comb 17 accommodates thesix yarns issuing from the tubes 15 which lie between combs 19 and 17and which are newly entering the warp as Well as the yarns which issuedfrom the group of tubes upstream of the comb 19. The comb 20 similarlyaccommodates the yarns entering the warp between combs 17 and 20 as wellas all of the yarns already in the warp upstream of the comb 17. Thisprocedure continues for the full length of the trough 16. Consequentlythe final width of the warp is dependent upon the number of spinningpositions with which the machine is equipped and the minimum yarnspacing at the downstream end of the trough 16.

If one compares the combs 19, 17, 20 and 21, it is immediately apparentthat the defining teeth thereof are much more widely spaced in the caseof upstream comb 19 than in the case of downstream comb 21. The upstreamcomb 19 has its teeth 19a so spaced as to distribute a warp comprised ofonly six yarns across the full width of the top of the trough 16. On theother hand, comb 17 has its teeth 17a so spaced as to distribute twelveyarns across the full width of the trough. It is, therefore, evidentthat the teeth 19a are twice as far apart as are the teeth 17a and thatthe teeth 17a are, in turn, a third further apart than are the teeth 20aon the comb 20. The teeth are progressively closer together in the combscloser to the downstream end of the trough, in each instance the numberof teeth per comb being increased by six over the adjacent upstreamcomb.

lt has been found that if the yarns constituting the warp are widelyspaced where the tension is lowest and are more closely spaced where thetension is higher, the overall tension can be reduced concurrently witha reduction in the tendency of adjacent component yarns of the warp tomigrate toward one another to stick together or to cause other operatingdifliculties. In a warp arrangement involving combs having the samespacing for the whole length of the trough, tension has to be maintainedat 225 grams to prevent excessive sticking. This is suliiciently high sothat there is a serious tendency for tension to migrate back into theaftertreating tubes of the system. With the new arrangement of thepresent invention, involving wide spacing at the upstream end of thetrough which is the furthest from the roller 18 and close spacing at thedownstream end of the trough near the rollers 18, it is possible toreduce the tension to 125 grams with resulting improvement in fiberquality. This is evident when it is borne in mind that tension on theyarn during tube type aftertreating retards the opening up of theiilaments and the uniform contact thereof with the aftertreating liquid.

A further advantage of the present invention is that by using differentspacing of the yarns as between the upstream and downstream ends of thetrough, it is possible to use identical tubes for every yarn led intothe trough. Thus, tubes 15 of equal length discharge their yarns into atrough which is of the same width for the full length of the machine.

What is claimed is:

l. In a machine for spinning man-made yarn, a first group of conduitsarranged in mutually parallel relationship and through each conduit ofwhich a yarn issues, a first guide means for forming from the yarns ofsaid iirst group of conduits a warp of predetermined width and with apredetermined spacing between individual yarns, additional groups ofconduits arranged in mutually parallel relationship with and adjacent tosaid iirst group and through each conduit of which yarn also issues, anadditional guide means for each of said additional groups of conduits,said additional guide means being spaced fr oin said iirst guide meansand from each other in the direction of travel of the warp, for formingfrom the yarns of each additional group of conduits a warp and forreceiving the warp from the preceding guide means, the overall width ofthe warp formed by each of said additional guide means beingsubstantially equal to said predetermined width of the warp formed bysaid first guide means whereby a combined warp of progressively lesseryarn spacing but uniform width is produced and means for drawing thecombined warp from said groups of conduits.

2. In a tube machine for spinning man-made yarn, a first group of tubesarranged with the longitudinal axes thereof mutually parallel andthrough each tube of which a yarn issues, a rst guide means for formingfrom the yarns of said first group of tubes a warp of predeterminedwidth and with a predetermined spacing between individual yarns,additional groups of tubes arranged in mutually parallel relationshipwith and adjacent to said irst group and through each tube of which ayarn also issues, an additional guide means for each of said additionalgroups of tubes, said additional guide means being spaced from saidtirst guide means and from each other in the direction of travel of thewarp, for forming from the yarns of each additional group of tubes awarp and for receiving the warp from the preceding guide means, theoverall width of the warp formed by each of said additional guide meansbeing substantially equal to said predetermined width of the warp formedby said rst guide means whereby a combined warp of progres,-

4 sively lesser yarn spacing but uniform width is produced and draw-offmeans arranged at one end of said groups of tubes to draw said combinedwarp in a direction generally normal to the longitudinal axes of saidtubes.

3. in a machine for spinning man-made yarn, a first group of conduitsarranged in mutually parallel relationship and through each conduit ofwhich a yarn issues, a first guide comb having sparsely spaced teeth forforming a warp from the yarns of said first group, additional groups ofconduits arranged in mutually parallel relationship with and adjacent tosaid rst group and through each conduit of which a yarn also issues, anadditional guide comb for each of said additional groups of conduits,said additional guide combs being spaced from said first guide comb andfrom each other in the direction of travel of the Warp, each of saidadditional guide combs having more teeth which are spaced progressivelycloser than those of preceding combs for forming from the yarns of eachgroup an additional warp and for receiving adjacent to said additionalwarp the Warp from the preceding guide comb, whereby a combined warp ofprogressively lesser yarn spacing is produced and means for drawing thecombined warp from said groups of conduits.

4. In a tube machine for spinning man-made yarn, a first group of tubesarranged with the longitudinal axes thereof mutually parallel andthrough each tube of which a yarn issues, a first guide comb havingsparsely spaced teeth for forming a warp from the yarns of said iirstgroup, additional groups of tubes arranged in mutually parallelrelationship with and adjacent to said tirst group and through each tubeof which a yarn also issues, an additional guide comb for each of saidadditional groups of tubes, said additional guide combs being spacedfrom said iirst guide comb and from each other in the direction oftravel of the warp, each of said additional guide combs having moreteeth which are spaced progressively closer than those of precedingcombs for forming from the yarns of each group an additional warp andfor receiving adjacent to said additional warp the warp from thepreceding guide comb, whereby a combined warp of progressively lesseryarn spacing is produced and draw-oil means arranged at one end of saidgroup of tubes to draw said combined warp in a direction generallynormal to the longitudinal axes of said tubes.

5. The method of warping comprising the steps of guiding a iii-st groupof running yarns to form a rst warp of widely spaced individual yarns,progressively guiding the individual yarns more closely one adjacent theother as the first warp proceeds in a linear direction and progressivelyintroducing additional groups of yarns to adjacent sections of the firstwarp to form a combined warp characterized in that, as additional groupsof yarns are progressively introduced to the iirst warp, the spacingbetween individual yarns in the combined warp is proportionatelyreduced.

6. The method of warping comprising the steps of guiding a first groupof running yarns to form a first warp of predetermined width and ofwidely spaced individual yarns, progressively guiding the individualyarns more closely one adjacent the other as the iirst warp proceeds ina linear direction and progressively introducing additional groups ofyarns to adjacent sections of said iirst warp to form a combined warpcharacterized in that, as additional groups of yarns are progressivelyintroduced to the iirst warp, the spacing between individual yarns inthe combined warp is proportionately reduced to maintain constant saidpredetermined width.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,116,766 Phillips May l0, 1938 2,185,621 Balch et al. Jan. 2, 19402,587,619 Hofmann Mar. 4, 1952 2,615,655 Guild Oct. 28, 1952 2,619,677Ryan Dec. 2, 1952

